Funny, You Don’t Look Jewish

Five celebrities you may not have known were Jewish.

If you’re anything like me, and God help you if you are, I know what you’re going through. Day after day, night after night, you agonize over whether your favorite actor, musician, scientist, athlete, businessperson, or historical figure – is Jewish. Isn’t it bad enough all the precious time that Facebook and Twitter suck out of our day without having to spend even more of it worrying about who is or is not a M.O.T. (Member of the Tribe)?

Relax. Help is at hand. By the time you finish reading this, you’ll at least have the facts about four celebrity Jewish identities and be able to return to your beloved Facebook, Angry Birds, Talmud or whatever else you choose to do with your time. And if the topic comes up on “Jeopardy,” you’ll be in good shape. No, don’t thank me. I do this solely as a public service. It’s a calling, really. You’re welcome.

Jack Black

Most of us first became aware of Jack Black in his breakout role as Barry, the record store clerk, in the movie “High Fidelity.” He went on to entertain us in “Shallow Hal,” “School of Rock,” and “Bernie,” among many other memorable films. Black is the son of two satellite engineers, Judith (née Cohen), who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, and Thomas William Black.His mother was born to a Jewish family, while his father converted to Judaism (Black attended Hebrew school and had a Bar Mitzvah). On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he said his surname may have come from the occupational name Blacksmith.

Jack Black wants to send his kids to a “good Hebrew school.”

Black is trying to send his kids to Hebrew school and according to him, it was a Passover song that helped his 5 year old’s bid for acceptance. Black has also told Conan O’Brien that although he and his wife “have not been to synagogue for years” they want to send their children to a “good Hebrew school.” His oldest child is getting ready for kindergarten and Black says that while he is an unaffiliated, he has experience with Rosh Hashanah and Passover, and the latter ended up coming in handy during the interview process.

When the school asked Black and his wife what they do for Passover, the comedian mentioned his wife’s grandfather’s Hagaddah, – the book used during Passover – which the family uses during the Seder each year. Black then began to sing his favorite Passover tune. “I could see the other parents that were waiting in line were looking at us very judgmentally, like, ‘you don’t really care about Passover,’” Black told O’Brien. The song, he said, “is the original heavy metal song.”

Gloria Allred

According to her website, Gloria Allred is the most famous woman attorney practicing law in the nation today, a tireless and successful advocate whose high-profile legal battles on behalf of victims whose rights have been violated have led to many landmark precedent-setting court decisions and hundreds of millions of dollars for her clients. Can we trust Gloria’s website. Hey, do you want to call Gloria Allred a liar?

Allred’s own life has been shaped by men’s misdeeds, criminal and otherwise. And on behalf of the entire male gender, I’d like to apologize to her. The only daughter of a working-class Jewish family in Philadelphia, she married a blue-blood boy during college and was pregnant at 19. Soon, she writes in her autobiography, her husband’s mental health deteriorated and he became emotionally abusive, forcing Allred to leave him. He later committed suicide. As a single mother, Allred became a teacher, working in inner-city schools.

By the time she enrolled in law school in 1968, Allred was a 30-year-old woman deeply versed in the challenges faced by women the world over. Her work as a defender of women, built on her own experiences of powerlessness, has resulted in some heroic victories. Men, if you’re on trial and Allred is representing the opposing team, be nervous.

Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham is an American filmmaker and actress. Dunham was educated at Oberlin College, Ohio, graduating with a creative writing degree. It was while at Oberlin that she began writing shorts and feature films. In 2009, Dunham created the web series "Delusional Downtown Divas,” which gained a cult following. Also in 2009, Dunham released Creative Nonfiction, her first feature film. She went on to write, direct and star in Tiny Furniture, which scored two Independent Spirit Award nominations.

In 2012, Dunham came to the attention of a wider audience with the HBO series "Girls,” created by and starring Dunham and executive produced by Judd Apatow . The show has become a hit and garnered much acclaim for the 26-year-old Dunham who is its creator, co-executive producer, director, writer and star. To put that in perspective, I think when I was 26, I was just learning to balance my checkbook.

Dunham was born in New York City. Her father, Carroll Dunham, is a painter of niche pop art, and her mother, Laurie Simmons, is a photographer and designer who creates "disquieting domestic tableaux" with dolls. Dunham's father is Protestant, and according to Dunham, a Mayflower descendant; Dunham's mother is Jewish.

Ben and Jerry

Are the kings of ice cream Jewish? Here’s a hint: Their full names are Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. The two lifelong friends met in 7th grade gym class. In 1977, Ben and Jerry completed a correspondence course on ice cream making from Pennsylvania State University's Creamery. Cohen has ageusia, a lost of taste functions of the tongue, and so relied on "mouth feel.” This led to the company's trademark chunks being mixed in with their ice cream.

The company is known for its support of progressive causes. It renamed a flavor, Yes Pecan, in reference to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. Ben & Jerry's was the first brand-name ice cream to be taken into space aboard the Space Shuttle – ice cream that’s literally out of this world.

David Copperfield

David Copperfield is an American illusionist, and has been described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. His illusions have included making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying, levitating over the Grand Canyon, and walking through the Great Wall of China. As a result, my nephews are no longer impressed by my pulling quarters out of their ears trick.

Copperfield's television specials have won 21 Emmy Awards of a total 38 nominations. Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, Copperfield’s career of over 30 years has earned him 11 Guinness World Records, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a knighthood by the French government. He has been named a Living Legend by the U.S. Library of Congress. No wonder I can no longer impress women by telling them I once sold a joke to Rodney Dangerfield.

Copperfield has so far sold 40 million tickets and grossed over $3 billion, which is more than any other solo entertainer in history. He currently performs over 500 shows a year.

Born David Seth Kotkin in Metuchen, New Jersey, Copperfield is the son of Jewish parents, Rebecca, an insurance adjuster, and Hyman Kotkin, who owned and operated a men's haberdashery in Metuchen called Korby's. Copperfield's mother was born in Jerusalem, while his paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from USSR (present-day Ukraine). Now, if only Copperfield could make the national debt disappear!

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About the Author

Mark Miller is a comedy writer who has performed stand-up comedy in nightclubs and on TV, written on numerous sit-com staffs, been a humor columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and is a current humor blogger for The Huffington Post. His first book, a collection of his humor essays on dating and romance, was published by Skyhorse Publishing on February 3rd of 2015. Its title: 500 Dates: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the Online Dating Wars. But he says he’d trade all his success away in a minute for immortality, inner peace and limitless wealth. Follow his website/blog at: http://www.markmillerhumorist.com/. And he can be reached at: mark.writer@gmail.com

Visitor Comments: 22

(18)
Lisa,
November 19, 2013 9:36 PM

Funny...

...they look Jewish to me!

(17)
Michelle,
March 26, 2013 1:13 AM

Diversity of Jews

I'm Jewish of european dissent. I went to a public school in Maryland where there was an african american named Moses who was Jewish. His sister, Judy, was several years younger than me and in a different class. I didn't have too much interaction with her. But Moses was orthodox, wore a yarlmulka, and kept kosher. He also spoke Hebrew quite well. He is what I would call the pride and joy of the tribe.

(16)
Sandra,
March 14, 2013 1:34 AM

Looking beyond Ashkenazi

It's 2013 and honestly I am tired of looking at Jewish articles that hint at diversity but then fail. It's time to look beyond Eastern Europe. Jews come in all hues, we are a diverse group of people and it's time that articles in Jewish publications reflect that diversity

(15)
LP,
March 13, 2013 7:58 PM

Please include more ethnically diverse Jews. There are many non-European Jews. Thanks!!

(14)
LChaim18,
March 13, 2013 4:28 PM

JEWS OF COLOR

Jewish celebrities come in all ethnicity and from all over the world. It would be great to celebrate Jews of Color and others from non-Ashkenazic backgrounds....Aubrey "Drake" Graham, Rashida Jones, Lisa Bonet, Zoe Kravitz, Nell Carter, Jackie Wilson, SHYNE, Jamaica Kincaid, yaphet Koto...there are many more that I can't think of off the top of my head. Please do us all a favor and represent ALL Jews on your site and in your articles. We come in from all races and from every place .earth

(13)
rivka c.,
March 13, 2013 3:47 PM

hmm, i hear that comment on a regular basis. along with the comment "did you convert" why? because i am a jew of colour. perhaps you could have added some celebrity jews of colour to this article. or at the least some celeb jews that did not originate from eastern europe, like Paula Abdul or Daniela Ruah (ncis:la).

(12)
Steven Kalka,
March 7, 2013 2:41 PM

Re: wage inequality

CEOs and business owners who limit their their wages can become just as wealthy as their higher earning counterparts by accepting more compensation in the form of shares of company stock. In any case, total CEO compensation can still be a fraction of 1% of its total revenue. If a corporation has multiple billions of dollars in annual revenue, the bottom line wouldn't be all that much effected he was only paid a dollar a year versus millions.

For one reason or another, human beings will always find some reason to feel alienated. That's part of the human conditions. Just one man's opinion.

(11)
Anonymous,
March 7, 2013 4:58 AM

add to e mail list

I think I would enjoy getting your mail

(10)
Lisa,
March 7, 2013 3:27 AM

Jack & Noah

Jack Black's bar mitzvah parsha is the same as my son's....parshat Noach! One of the coolest parsha's in the Torah! Great article!

(9)
Adi Manteuffel,
March 7, 2013 2:16 AM

Jewish means to be of israeli ancestors

To me they look like Kazars (Eastern Europeans) and not jewish (part of the tribe).

(8)
Raphaelle Do Lern Hwei,
March 6, 2013 10:37 AM

Your Name Your Identity

I hope that Jewish Performers like David Copperfield will not use a stage name but use their own Jewish names. It shows their special heritage.

(7)
Rho,
March 5, 2013 8:41 PM

How about the designer, Diane Von Furstenberg, she is Sephardic, like me. Not sure I spelled her name correctly.

(6)
Tim Upham,
March 5, 2013 8:34 PM

Many Times It Is Not Your Look, It Is Your Name

I have had so many people tell "But you do not have a Jewish name." I was born as Timoshenko Estayazoma Nagy. I got taken in by a foster family, with the last name of Upham. So that became my surname. I shortened my first name to the identifiable "Tim." People will always ask me "Is Tim short for Timothy?" I will say "No, it is short for Timoshenko." Their response will be "Whaaaaaat!" Meir Kahane was not even his real first name, it was Martin.

(5)
Bruce Birnberg,
March 5, 2013 6:02 PM

And half Yemenite too

All true...what you failed to mention is that Rebecca Kotkin was a Yemenite Jew raised in the Yemenite Jewish community of Borough Park, Brooklyn. My mother Shulamit, was friends with her.

Bruce Birnberg,
March 8, 2013 6:45 PM

follow up on Yemenite heritage

I checked with my mother...David Coperfield's mother's full maiden name was Rebecca Gispan. Now that's a Yemenite name!

(4)
Tom Hessian,
March 5, 2013 5:55 PM

One you forgot to mention

How about recent Oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis? His MOTHER is JEWISH!

(3)
Stefan J. Lane,
March 5, 2013 5:29 PM

Jewish Racism

We just celebrated the wedding of our eldest Son Zach to his Wife Ilana in the city of Philadelphia. It was a magnicent affair haimisher affair. The Ketubah signing, Bedekken, Crowning Ceremony but mostly to me the Chuppah in the Planetarium under stars at the Franklin Institute were wonderful. The reason for my message is that a 20 something young Jewish woman that told me she is involved in a relationship with a gentile man said that not dating non-Jews is racist. I can't say if I was more appalled or disgusted with her thinking. I smiled and walked away from her and erased that sad moment from my mind. I had heard of that type of talk but never heard it for myself.
Baruch Hashem that so far my children don't think that way.

(2)
Moriah,
March 5, 2013 5:15 PM

Spanish Jews

Can you please post some articles on Spanish Jews. Not all Jewish names end in Burg or Berg. Many Jewish names end in ez. In fact, many Spanish Jews do not even know of their Jewish ancestry.

Lisa,
March 7, 2013 3:25 AM

What's your last name??

Give us On my way! Examples of Spanish ( Jewish) last names....

(1)
Steven Kalka,
March 5, 2013 4:39 PM

Re: business and politics may not always mix

I don't regularly eat ice cream, but if I did, I wouldn't patronize Ben and Jerry's. I disagree with their support of Occupy Wall Street. That movement has an incoherent message, and I disagree with its trashing of the so called wealthy 1%. Here are 2 men living in a country offering so much acceptance and opportunity, and who support trashing the very system that enabled their success.
Not everyone in the top 1% is a crony capitalist. I'm sorry, but I consider them to be ungrateful turncoats.

Anonymous,
March 6, 2013 1:52 AM

AHA!

I knew there was a reason why I never buy their ice cream. Aha! Their fancy prices couldn't hurt either.

Anonymous,
March 6, 2013 3:41 AM

Ben and Jerry

While other CEOs make more than 520 X what their lowest paid worker makes, Ben and Jerry made sure than they never made more than 10 X what their lowest paid worker made. Yes, they became rich, but never abused the system the way it's being abused now.

I just got married and have an important question: Can we eat rice on Passover? My wife grew up eating it, and I did not. Is this just a matter of family tradition?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Torah instructs a Jew not to eat (or even possess) chametz all seven days of Passover (Exodus 13:3). "Chametz" is defined as any of the five grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye) that came into contact with water for more than 18 minutes. Chametz is a serious Torah prohibition, and for that reason we take extra protective measures on Passover to prevent any mistakes.

Hence the category of food called "kitniyot" (sometimes referred to generically as "legumes"). This includes rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Even though kitniyot cannot technically become chametz, Ashkenazi Jews do not eat them on Passover. Why?

Products of kitniyot often appear like chametz products. For example, it can be hard to distinguish between rice flour (kitniyot) and wheat flour (chametz). Also, chametz grains may become inadvertently mixed together with kitniyot. Therefore, to prevent confusion, all kitniyot were prohibited.

In Jewish law, there is one important distinction between chametz and kitniyot. During Passover, it is forbidden to even have chametz in one's possession (hence the custom of "selling chametz"). Whereas it is permitted to own kitniyot during Passover and even to use it - not for eating - but for things like baby powder which contains cornstarch. Similarly, someone who is sick is allowed to take medicine containing kitniyot.

What about derivatives of kitniyot - e.g. corn oil, peanut oil, etc? This is a difference of opinion. Many will use kitniyot-based oils on Passover, while others are strict and only use olive or walnut oil.

Finally, there is one product called "quinoa" (pronounced "ken-wah" or "kin-o-ah") that is permitted on Passover even for Ashkenazim. Although it resembles a grain, it is technically a grass, and was never included in the prohibition against kitniyot. It is prepared like rice and has a very high protein content. (It's excellent in "cholent" stew!) In the United States and elsewhere, mainstream kosher supervision agencies certify it "Kosher for Passover" -- look for the label.

Interestingly, the Sefardi Jewish community does not have a prohibition against kitniyot. This creates the strange situation, for example, where one family could be eating rice on Passover - when their neighbors will not. So am I going to guess here that you are Ashkenazi and your wife is Sefardi. Am I right?

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (1194-1270), known as Nachmanides, and by the acronym of his name, Ramban. Born in Spain, he was a physician by trade, but was best-known for authoring brilliant commentaries on the Bible, Talmud, and philosophy. In 1263, King James of Spain authorized a disputation (religious debate) between Nachmanides and a Jewish convert to Christianity, Pablo Christiani. Nachmanides reluctantly agreed to take part, only after being assured by the king that he would have full freedom of expression. Nachmanides won the debate, which earned the king's respect and a prize of 300 gold coins. But this incensed the Church: Nachmanides was charged with blasphemy and he was forced to flee Spain. So at age 72, Nachmanides moved to Jerusalem. He was struck by the desolation in the Holy City -- there were so few Jews that he could not even find a minyan to pray. Nachmanides immediately set about rebuilding the Jewish community. The Ramban Synagogue stands today in Jerusalem's Old City, a living testimony to his efforts.

It's easy to be intimidated by mean people. See through their mask. Underneath is an insecure and unhappy person. They are alienated from others because they are alienated from themselves.

Have compassion for them. Not pity, not condemning, not fear, but compassion. Feel for their suffering. Identify with their core humanity. You might be able to influence them for the good. You might not. Either way your compassion frees you from their destructiveness. And if you would like to help them change, compassion gives you a chance to succeed.

It is the nature of a person to be influenced by his fellows and comrades (Rambam, Hil. De'os 6:1).

We can never escape the influence of our environment. Our life-style impacts upon us and, as if by osmosis, penetrates our skin and becomes part of us.

Our environment today is thoroughly computerized. Computer intelligence is no longer a science-fiction fantasy, but an everyday occurrence. Some computers can even carry out complete interviews. The computer asks questions, receives answers, interprets these answers, and uses its newly acquired information to ask new questions.

Still, while computers may be able to think, they cannot feel. The uniqueness of human beings is therefore no longer in their intellect, but in their emotions.

We must be extremely careful not to allow ourselves to become human computers that are devoid of feelings. Our culture is in danger of losing this essential aspect of humanity, remaining only with intellect. Because we communicate so much with unfeeling computers, we are in danger of becoming disconnected from our own feelings and oblivious to the feelings of others.

As we check in at our jobs, and the computer on our desk greets us with, "Good morning, Mr. Smith. Today is Wednesday, and here is the agenda for today," let us remember that this machine may indeed be brilliant, but it cannot laugh or cry. It cannot be happy if we succeed, or sad if we fail.

Today I shall...

try to remain a human being in every way - by keeping in touch with my own feelings and being sensitive to the feelings of others.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...